Pretending, like the three monkeys, that something can't happen is dangerous and foolish.
This was sent out from the Women in Green list.
It's not pleasant reading, but it's necessary. This last summer's war, over thirty years after the Yom Kippur War, shows that wishful thinking is still dominating Israeli politicians and military.
Dear Friends,
My dearest co-chair, Ruth, is away this week and thus I am replacing her.
As many of you know, my family and other Women in Green families had moved to Gush Katif a few months before the expulsion. We had the privilege to live in Kfar Yam, next to the wonderful Yitzhaki family. Today, the Yitzhaki family lives in Efrat, Gush Etzion, waiting to return home to Gush Katif. Datya, who had been the spokeswoman for Gush Katif for many years, has become a close friend of ours. So, too,her husband Aryeh, famous historian and tour guide. Aryeh is a walking encyclopedia and his lectures (in Hebrew) are fascinating.
Just last week he gave a lecture on the famous story of the "Lamed Hey", the 35 Jewish fighters who, in 1948, had tried to come from Jerusalem to help Gush Etzion but were massacred by the Tzurif Arabs. In front of a packed Heichal Shlomo audience of more than 350 people (lecture organized by the Jerusalem municipality Moreshet program), Aryeh talked to us about different facts he had discovered - facts hidden away for years from the public by the Israeli army and politicians, in order for the public not to know about the many things lacking and mistakes made; mistakes that cost us a lot of Jewish lives.
Worrying that once again the government and the IDF are not getting prepared for what is to come, Aryeh wrote a chilling article last week about an imaginary scenario The article was written in Hebrew and printed on the Arutz 7 Hebrew website. Women in Green translated the article. No comments are needed.
I want to add one more thing. Because Aryeh Yitzhaki never hid his political right wing views, and because he was seen on TV during the expulsion defending his home against the expulsion forces, he was "punished' by the leftists. The Academy Institute of Machon Avshalom, where he had been teaching for years, fired him. So too the Ministry of Tourism fired him from their Course where he used to be a Senior Lecturer. Not only did the government succeed in destroying his house, the Leftists wanted to make sure to try and destroy his income, too. We cannot let that happen. Now, little by little, Aryeh is being invited again to lecture. But it is not enough. Every hour Aryeh does not teach, is a loss to all of us. Women in Green call upon all those who have connections in Israel with schools, ulpanot, yeshivot, community centers, shuls, academies, etc., to invite Aryeh Yitzhaki to come and talk (in Hebrew). Aryeh can be reached at datya@netvision.net.il
Shabbat Shalom,
Nadia Matar
The Massacre in Kibbutz N.
or, How the War to Liberate the Gaza Region Began (a Nonfictional Scenario)
by Aryeh Yitzhaki
The Shabbat evening in February 2007 was cold and rainy. All the members of Kibbutz N. were fast asleep in their modest homes. Only the guards patrolled the perimeter in their vehicle.
The soldiers of the company in the nearby camp that adjoined the kibbutz fences also were asleep in their beds. The soldiers on duty that night wearily looked at the screens and consoles of their sophisticated warning devices. Heavy fog descended on the entire area at about 3:00 a.m. An impenetrable white screen enveloped all the settlements surrounding Gaza. The kibbutz security head looked into the fog and had a bad feeling. This is a cursed night, he whispered to himself, I just hope we get through it OK.
At 3:30 a small hole opened in the field to the south of the kibbutz fence. Shadowy figures began to emerge from the entrance to the tunnel that the Hamas terrorists had dug, in total secrecy, over the course of several months. The first unit came out, and formed up to the north, to be followed by a second and third unit.
Within three minutes, 21 fighters, well equipped with the latest arms, were ready. They began to move swiftly toward the kibbutz fence. They made no attempt to mask their advance. The lead unit cut the security fence within 10 seconds, and the entire force ran inside. Unit no. 2, whose members were armed with the newest antitank missiles, raced towards the kibbutz gate and took position facing it, and unit no. 3, armed with medium machine guns, took position close to it.
The six other units (including the lead unit) began to noisily storm the houses, using breaching charges and fragmentation grenades.
The kibbutz security head and an additional guard, who drove to the spot where the firing had begun, took a direct RPG hit, and their vehicle burst into flames. The terrorists moved quickly from one house to another, shooting the stunned residents who had been awakened. Not even the children and infants were spared.
At that moment a well-timed barrage of five Kassams and four mortar shells landed in the heart of the military camp, wreaking havoc, and hitting many soldiers who left their barracks upon hearing the heavy shooting. Cries of "Medic!" came from every direction. Despite the confusion, the company commander quickly organized a force from the alert platoon and began to advance, at the head of the force, to the kibbutz. On the way they were joined by two Merkavah-III tanks that were stationed nearby. They crossed the road going east and approached the gate.
The first tank took two RPG-29 hits, and started to blaze. The second tank tried to maneuver around it, but it, too, was hit by two RPGs and stopped. Some of the tank crew members jumped out of the turret. The infantry soldiers attempted to charge the gate, but were stopped by heavy machine gun fire. Black smoke rose from the kibbutz houses.
Additional forces came from the camp and nearby camps, while the terrorists continued to carpet the entire area with Kassams and mortar shells, and with hundreds of terrorists coming from the direction of Gaza.
At this stage, two batteries of IDF cannon laid down a heavy artillery barrage on the area around the kibbutz and the camp, in order to prevent the terrorists from sending reinforcements.
The whine of the rotors of the attack helicopters that scrambled to the sector could be heard through the thick fog.
At 5:30 the firing stopped, and the army reinforcements entered the kibbutz and began clearing the area.
The sight that greeted them was horrendous. Dozens of dead and wounded civilians, including women and children, were lying about in and between the houses, with dead terrorists next to them. Most of the houses has suffered hits and were damaged; some were in flames, with smoke pouring forth.
Within an hour, the number of dead had risen to more than 40, in addition to the dozens of wounded. It was feared that several kibbutz members had been kidnapped by the terrorists as they withdrew to Gaza. The reports of the horrendous massacre in the kibbutz enraged the entire country. Spontaneous demonstrations against the Olmert government's policy of restraint erupted throughout Israel. The government convened in emergency session, and decided to immediately approve the plan of the "Defensive Shield 3" operation to conquer the entire Gaza Strip and eliminate the terrorist organizations. The IDF went on red alert, and three reserve divisions were called up. At the same time, the Fatah and Hamas leaderships declared national unity and a general mobilization.
The European observers at the Rafiah crossing point fled in haste. Thousands of armed men entered through the Philadelphi Route, and arms, weaponry, and tons of explosives streamed into the Gaza Strip from Egypt.
So much for Chapter One. Chapter Two will wait for another time - we will tell of the harsh fighting to conquer the terrorists' defensive compounds in the refugee camps and at the entrances to the cities; about the operative and tactical surprises; about the acts of heroism of the frontline troops, despite the heavy casualties (400 dead); about the General Staff's loss of control of the situation, and the quarrels between the Chief of the General Staff and GOC Southern Command; and about what happened after the cease-fire that was forced on Israel after intervention by the UN, the United States, and the "Quartet." And, of course, we will tell you about the deliberations of the Government Commission of Inquiry headed by the retired Justice Aharon Barak; about the accusations and counteraccusations traded by the Prime Minister, the Defense Minister, and the Chief of Staff; and, naturally, about the well-publicized ouster of GOC Southern Command and the mass protest movement that led to the fall of the failure-and-defeat government. It was obvious that we acted too late, despite the clear intelligence, and in the worst possible way.
And now, seriously:
How long will we cry out, and just be whistling in the wind?
When will the people that walks in darkness open its eyes and see the reality?
Allow me to close with an insight that I heard from an Arab building contractor during a tour of Khan Yunis in the winter of 1987, exactly twenty years ago. As we were drinking steaming black coffee (with hel, cardamom), the Arab asked me: "Ya assad [lion], what do the Syrians and the Israelis have in common?"
When I didn't have an answer, he replied: "A hard head and a lack of intellectual openness. And when is there openness?", the Arab continued, "when your and the Syrians' heads are opened with a club."
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Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
Tel: 972-2-624-9887 Fax: 972-2-624-5380
mailto:michael@womeningreen.org
http://www.womeningreen.org
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